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Eating processed foods

A processed food is any food that has been altered in some way during preparation.

Food processing can be as basic as:

freezing

canning

baking

drying

Not all processed foods are unhealthy but some processed foods may contain high levels of salt, sugar and fat.

What counts as processed food?

Examples of common processed foods include:

breakfast cereals

cheese

tinned vegetables

bread

savoury snacks, such as crisps, sausage rolls, pies and pasties

meat products, such as bacon, sausage, ham, salami and paté

"convenience foods", such as microwave meals or ready meals

cakes and biscuits

drinks, such as milk or soft drinks

Not all processed food is a bad choice. Some foods need processing to make them safe, such as milk, which needs to be pasteurised to remove harmful bacteria.

Other foods need processing to make them suitable for use, such as pressing seeds to make oil.

What makes some processed foods less healthy?

Ingredients such as salt, sugar and fat are sometimes added to processed foods to make their flavour more appealing and to extend their shelf life, or in some cases to contribute to the food's structure, such as salt in bread or sugar in cakes.

Buying processed foods can lead to people eating more than the recommended amounts of sugar, salt and fat as they may not be aware of how much has been added to the food they are buying and eating.

These foods can also be higher in calories due to the high amounts of added sugar or fat in them. Find out more about calories .

How can I eat processed foods as part of a healthy diet?

You have no control over the amount salt, sugar and fat in processed food but you do have control over what you to choose buy.

Reading nutrition labels can help you choose between processed products and keep a check on fat, salt and sugar content.

Most pre-packed foods have the nutrition information on the front, back or side of the packaging.

There are guidelines to tell you if a food is high or low in fat, saturated fat, salt or sugar.

The guidelines, which are for adults, are:

Total fat

High: more than 17.5g of fat per 100g
Low: 3g of fat or less per 100g

Saturated fat

High: more than 5g of saturated fat per 100g
Low: 1.5g of saturated fat or less per 100g

Sugars

High: more than 22.5g of total sugars per 100g
Low: 5g of total sugars or less per 100g

Salt

High: more than 1.5g of salt per 100g (or 0.6g sodium)
Low: 0.3g of salt or less per 100g (or 0.1g sodium)

If you are trying to cut down on saturated fat, try to limit the amount of foods you eat that have more than 5g of saturated fat per 100g.

Red and processed meat can be high in saturated fat. We are advised not to eat more than 70g a day.

If you're pregnant, find out what food you should avoid .

When cooking food at home…

For tips on how to eat healthily on a budget, read our healthy recipe ideas and check out the Eat4Cheap challenge.

For more health articles, information or to use our symptom checker click here